A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based at the University of Kentucky.
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Utah town prefers U.S. 'pork' to Mormon crickets

Earmark spending in the $410 billion ominbus spending bill passed last week has been strongly criticized by members of both parties. But in many cases small rural communities have no other hope for dealing with problems facing their communities. That is the case in Grouse Creek, Utah, population 80. (Katie Madonia photo)

"Each of the past four summers, the hungry critters known as Mormon crickets have marched by the tens of thousands over grassy hillsides, past juniper trees, across dirt roads and through ranch houses," reports Philip Rucker of The Washington Post. "The noisy insects have devoured crops, frightened children and threatened families' livelihoods in the tranquil high desert." To view video of Mormon crickets invading Utah click here.

Grouse Creek is due to receive $1 million from an earmark to help kill the insects. Many have pointed to the budget line as "an egregious example of government spending, but to Grouse Creek, the earmark is salvation," writes Rucker. Earmark spending represented 2 percent of the onmibus spending bill. (Read more)

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This blog generally follows traditional journalistic standards. It's not about opinions, though you may read one here occasionally. It's about facts that we think will be useful to rural journalists, non-rural journalists who do rural stories, and others interested in rural issues. We don't try to be provocative, so we don't generate as many comments as most blogs with the level of traffic we have, but we certainly invite comments -- and contributions, to al.cross@uky.edu. Feel free to republish blog items, with credit to us and the original source.